Sunday, May 28, 2006

Self preservation

With graduation time rolling around I've been thinking quite a bit about the good ole days. Fresh out of high school, young, dumb and full of, um, self assurance. I was ready to take on the world. One thing I didn't realize was just how lacking I was in the self preservation department. Heck, I didn't realize it until earlier this week, as I was riding past the local university.

What came to mind was a recent article, that I'm too lazy to find, that said there is an alarming number of college kids that don't know how to balance a check book, change a spare tire, pay bills on time, etc... Pretty much your typical run of the mill, acting like a grown up type stuff. Most of it was stuff that you had to learn, or be shown by somebody, what I didn't realize was that several of the kids running around on campus must have failed (or skipped) Kindergarten.

As I was riding past campus, driving down a four line road, several of these kids just walked out in front of traffic. Had it not been for me and several other drivers being semi-alert they'd have been pancakes. When one of the drivers hit the horn, expressing their displeasure, the kids flipped her the bird. Now maybe he was letting her know that she was number one in his book, but I don't think so.

The bad part is it wasn't just one kid, that we could chalk up to Darwin not kicking in yet, nope it happened on three separate occasions. There on one of the busiest streets in town these kids are just stepping out into traffic without a care in the world.

Now I'm not sure about y'all, but this doesn't do a whole heckuva lot to instill faith in our future generations, not to mention one of the kids, probably an art major, had a purple and blue mohawk. At least his mohawk matched his tattoos. Of course he may be a communications major, lets just hope he likes saying "Would you like to biggie size your order".

As a new parent, I'm wondering what these kids parents are thinking, if they're thinking at all. Even at the ripe old age of thirty I couldn't imagine walking into my parents home with a purple & blue mohawk and matching tats. Of course I may be odd, or maybe I'm getting old, who knows.

Seeing these kids brings back the line from Bill Cosby's act, where he tells his kid: "I brought you into this work, I can take you out".

2 comments:

  1. Mind blowing isn't it? I recently read somewhere, probably the Army Times, that the Army is going to start giving classes in finances, ie: checkbook maintenance, etc, in basic training. My mother sat me down early on after getting my first account after my first job and explained the ins and outs of a checkbook. I too wonder what they country is going to be like run by the generation coming up. Then I look across the street to the two wonderful kids my neighbor has -- it will be okay Phin. It will be okay.

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  2. In the future, it will probably be like one of those permanent carnivals. Everyone running around looking like a circus clown, hepped up on the drug of the year, and they will be deaf from the use of loud car stereos. Ughhh
    The future. It will be loud, it will be shiny, it will be superficial.

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